Would you support a crowd funded, brand new, Atari 2600 console?

[kevtris]

Thanks for checking. It looks like it should look.

 

I suggest you check out the interlaced demo's (as in 480i). I bet they are tricky to emulate. Only z26 seems to get them right. http://www.atariage....ws/Interlacing/

 

I tried them and they kinda work. the hardware is working properly but my monitor doesn't like the interlace. I checked over the thread on the biglist archive about it, and there's no reason why it shouldn't work. I have a theory why it isn't working right, and I think it miiight be the way the demo is coded. The symptom on my monitor is the TOP of the image *is* interlaced, while the bottom isn't. If the 1/2 scanline is only performed on ONE of the fields, it won't work right on this monitor. It would have a symptom similar to this. The top "slanted lines" part works fine, while the lower slanted lines don't (but you can see they are slightly offset). As the video is progressively drawn, the two fields converge.

 

I have a video capture card, but for some reason I cannot get it to capture in 60fps mode, it will only do 30fps so you can only see one field. You can see this in that Supercharger demo unit video I made- the text in phaser patrol which uses 30Hz flicker so every other character of the message is shown. I tried virtualdub and VLC and both refuse to capture at 60fps or 30fps interlaced.

[YANDMAN]

I think this could be a good idea as long as key Atari features are preserved correctly, i think if your going to produce a system then make something more akin to the 7800 so both formats could be played, I do like the idea of just a pure 2600 also though and as mentioned before with modern tv connections, you could also make it a little more powerful to aide the great programmers that release games here, just as the 7800 has the xm on its way the 2600 could be recreated to sit somewhere between the two, There are many great early 80's arcade games that would make great releases on the 2600 but never did due to technical restraints.

 

It should also have a region switch included so all us pal users can play the huge and more readily available u.s versions.

 

I think cosmetically it should take it style from the vader but with a more modern swoopy style rather than the basic block design of the original, switches maybe in a posh metal finish with a super cool silver Atari logo sat under a few mm of clear resin to give it a 3d aspect on top and finished in a stunning almost ceramic black finish, damn it i can see it now i want it.

 

I love the original equipment but tv connections is a pain i would back a modern, more powerful and multi format machine and just to open a new Atari esqu console would be joy.................Fight the future!!

[roland p]

I tried them and they kinda work. the hardware is working properly but my monitor doesn't like the interlace. I checked over the thread on the biglist archive about it, and there's no reason why it shouldn't work. I have a theory why it isn't working right, and I think it miiight be the way the demo is coded. The symptom on my monitor is the TOP of the image *is* interlaced, while the bottom isn't. If the 1/2 scanline is only performed on ONE of the fields, it won't work right on this monitor. It would have a symptom similar to this. The top "slanted lines" part works fine, while the lower slanted lines don't (but you can see they are slightly offset). As the video is progressively drawn, the two fields converge.

Did you try the demo on an original 2600, or your fpga version?

 

Maybe the vcs produces a field of 262 lines and then a field of 263 lines? Maybe that could produce the result you describe?

I've never tried interlace on the 2600 (I don't have a crt set up at the moment) but I always think of the following picture:

I'm not sure how to achieve this. My guess would be to enable vsync at B, and then at D.

 

Timings for such a picture:

 

Point B is scanline 263 (half of it) of the lower graph. source: http://www.ni.com/white-paper/4750/en

Edited April 2, 2013 by roland p

[Andromeda Stardust]

The VCS does have weird timing going on. I attempted capturing a VCS signal on my Hauppauge USB capture device using a VCR as a Demodulator. The results were terrible, grainy grayscale with tiny vertical bars everywhere. And the Hauppauge capture device works flawlessly with my other 8- and 16-bit consoles (NES, SNES, Genesis). Most all 8- and 16-bit consoles were 240p 60Hz (262 scanlines every frame) and not 480i interlaced (262 + 263 scanlines) like N64, PS1, and later gen consoles. I think Neo-Geo was the only 4th gen console with truly interlaced 480i graphics. The reason why I bring this up is that the non-interlaced 240p signals of most 3rd and 4th generation consoles do not break certain HDTVs, RBG monitors, and capture devices the way the Atari VCS and possibly other 2nd generation consoles do. And I don't necessarily believe that AV modding the Atari will make it any more compatible, because the timings will still be incorrect just like they were with the demodulated RF signal.

 

I'm no expert on NTSC signal generation, but i think in the special case of the Atari VCS, it may a good idea to ditch flawless TIA accuracy to create better compatibility with the NTSC standard. In other words, if possible you should provide an option to "tweak" the TIA signal generation to make it more compatible with NTSC video. Give users a configuration option to decide whether they want "authentic" TIA emulation or "better NTSC compatibility". I believe a lot of retro gamers would choose the latter. I know I would.

Edited April 2, 2013 by stardust4ever

[+wood_jl]

The VCS does have weird timing going on. I attempted capturing a VCS signal on my Hauppauge USB capture device using a VCR as a Demodulator. The results were terrible, grainy grayscale with tiny vertical bars everywhere. And the Hauppauge capture device works flawlessly with my other 8- and 16-bit consoles (NES, SNES, Genesis).

 

I don't remember the specifics, but I've had a similar experience with my "ADS DVD Xpress" and the Atari 8-bit computers (400/800/XL/XE) when it works with other consoles/devices. I wonder if it's a similar timing issue? Considering the source (both Ataris), perhaps so.